Idaho fishing rules
License, gear, and the statewide limits IDFG publishes for major species. Water-specific rules replace these numbers. Last checked October 2026.
License
- Who needs one
- Any person 14 years of age or older must have a valid Idaho fishing license to fish for fish, bullfrogs, or crayfish, except on a private pond that has a valid Private Pond Permit or on Free Fishing Day. A printed license or an allowed electronic copy must be in possession. Anyone fishing for ocean-run salmon or steelhead also needs the matching permit, except people the rules expressly exempt.
- Residents
- A resident is anyone who has been domiciled in Idaho with a bona fide intent to make it their permanent home for at least six months immediately before applying for a license, tag, or permit. A driver proves that with a valid Idaho driver’s license. Owning property or paying property taxes in Idaho is not enough. A resident child under 14 does not need a license and may keep a separate daily bag. Military members permanently stationed in Idaho, and Idaho residents in the U.S. military who keep Idaho as their official residence, have additional resident options on the residency page.
- Nonresidents
- Persons who do not qualify as residents must purchase nonresident licenses. A nonresident child under 14 must be with someone who holds a valid Idaho fishing license, and the child’s fish count in that license holder’s limit, unless the child buys a nonresident license and keeps a separate limit. No one may claim Idaho resident privileges while claiming resident privileges in another state, except military personnel.
- Free fishing days
- Idaho’s Free Fishing Day is the second Saturday in June. In 2026 that date is June 13. Residents and nonresidents may fish without a license or salmon permit. Statewide, regional, and Chinook seasons, rules, and bag and possession limits still apply. Any Chinook harvested that day does not count toward the season limit.
Seasons and closures
Regional seasons
The 2025–2027 booklet, 2nd edition updated in 2026, sets seasons by region. Panhandle, Clearwater, Southwest, Magic Valley, Southeast, Upper Snake, and Salmon regional pages each say all waters are open all year except as modified in that region’s special-rule waters. A listed water replaces the regional season, bag, length, or gear rule. Catch-and-release is legal only while a season is open for that species. Closed or out-of-season waters may not be fished.
Salmon, steelhead, and boundary waters
Salmon and steelhead seasons are separate from the regional game-fish season and change by proclamation. On the Snake River where it forms the Idaho boundary with Oregon or Washington, an Idaho license covers fishing under Idaho rules but not from the Oregon or Washington shore, and not in sloughs or tributaries on that side. An angler may use the privileges of only one license at a time even if both states’ licenses and permits are in possession. On Bear Lake, an Idaho or Utah license may be used, and the angler follows the rules of the state whose water they are fishing.
Legal gear
Hooks and barbless rules
Up to five hooks may be used on a line, except where a water prohibits it. A treble hook counts as one hook. Barbless hooks are required when fishing for salmon or steelhead in the Salmon and Clearwater river drainages and in the Snake River below Hells Canyon Dam. Many special-rule waters add barbless hooks, single-point hooks, or bait bans. The 2025–2027 booklet does not set a statewide barbless rule for every species.
Rods per angler
One handline or one pole with a line is the rule. A two-pole permit lets the holder use two poles or rods on open waters, including salmon and steelhead. A child 14 or younger who wants two poles must buy that permit. While ice fishing, each angler may use five lines. A two-pole permit does not raise that ice-fishing cap. Gear must be attended so the angler can watch the rod and react to a strike. The ice hole may not exceed 10 inches in diameter, except on Bear Lake while fishing for cisco.
Nets
Nongame fish, yellow perch, and crayfish may be taken with nets, seines, or traps only in waters open to fishing, and only during the game-fish season for that water. Game fish other than yellow perch, and protected nongame fish, taken while trapping or seining must be released immediately. A seine or net may not exceed 10 feet in length or width and must have 3/8-inch square mesh or smaller. A minnow or crayfish trap may not exceed 2 feet in any dimension, or 8 cubic feet if the shape is irregular. Traps must be tagged and checked at least every 48 hours. A fishing license covers up to five crayfish traps. A gaff may not be used to land fish except through the ice where that species has no length restriction or harvest closure, or for unprotected fish taken with archery that will not be released.
Snagging
Snagging is taking or attempting to take a fish by any method other than enticing it to strike and become hooked in the mouth or jaw. Game fish cannot be kept unless hooked in the mouth or jaw. Snag fishing is illegal except where a special rule allows it. Snagging unprotected nongame fish is permitted. If Fish and Game authorizes a salvage, snagging can be one of the allowed methods, and a fishing license is still required.
Spearing and bow
Spearfishing is underwater take with a manually or mechanically propelled single- or multiple-pronged spear, and only in waters open to fishing for the species the region allows. The 2025–2027 booklet lists those waters by region, including walleye in several regions, bass in listed rivers or reservoirs, northern pike in listed Panhandle waters, and lake trout in Lake Pend Oreille and Upper Priest Lake. Bow and arrow, crossbow, or a mechanical device other than a firearm may be used only for bullfrogs and unprotected nongame fish, and only during the game-fish season on that water. Harvest by hands alone is illegal except for crayfish and bullfrogs.
Bait and live transport
Live fish, leeches, frogs, salamanders, waterdogs, and shrimp may not be used as bait. Live crayfish may be used only if caught on the water being fished. Chumming is illegal. Bait may not be used with artificial lures on artificial-flies-and-lures-only waters. Game fish used as bait must have been taken legally and count toward bag and possession limits. It is illegal to transport or release any live fish or fish eggs into Idaho waters without a permit from the Director. Non-invasive crayfish may be transported alive for personal consumption. All fish must be killed or released before the angler leaves the water. Salmon and steelhead must be killed or released after landing and may not be held live for later sorting.
Bag and size limits
These are the statewide or default limits. A named lake, river, or marine area can replace every figure below.
Trout
There is no single statewide trout bag. Each region sets the general daily limit, and a special-rule water replaces it. In the Panhandle, the regional trout limit is 6 of all listed trout species combined, and bull trout and brook trout are listed separately: bull trout are catch-and-release and brook trout are 25. In the Clearwater Region, the regional trout limit is 2 in rivers and streams and 6 in lakes, reservoirs, ditches, and canals. Possession is three times the daily bag. Cutthroat harvest is closed on many listed waters.
Bass
Bass limits are regional, and listed waters replace them. In the Panhandle the general bass limit is 6 largemouth and smallmouth combined. In the Clearwater Region, rivers and streams have no bag, length, or possession limit and spearfishing is allowed, while lakes and reservoirs have a limit of 6 of both species combined. Tiger muskie, where the regional rule applies, is 2 fish, none under 40 inches, in both of those regions.
Kokanee and whitefish
Kokanee are not on one statewide bag. The Panhandle regional limit is 15. Whitefish in the Panhandle have no bag, length, or possession limit, and harvest is allowed during any open season unless a special rule says otherwise. Check the region page before using a Panhandle number on another region.
Salmon and steelhead
Fishing for ocean-run salmon or steelhead is closed unless a season is opened for that water, and a valid fishing license plus the salmon or steelhead permit is required except on Free Fishing Day and for people the permit rules exempt. In the Clearwater Region, steelhead are defined as rainbow trout longer than 20 inches in the Snake River drainage below Hells Canyon Dam, the Salmon River drainage excluding lakes and reservoirs, and the Clearwater River drainage excluding the portion above Dworshak Dam and lakes. Daily, possession, and season limits are set on the salmon and steelhead pages, not by the regional trout bag.
Sturgeon
Where sturgeon fishing is open, it is catch-and-release only, all year. Fishing for sturgeon is illegal in the Kootenai River, and a sturgeon caught there must be released immediately. Sturgeon anglers must use a sliding sinker and a lighter test line to attach the weight. Barbless hooks are required. A fish held by a tether, rope, or tail-rope counts as possessed, and that method is unlawful for a fish that must be released immediately.